Alex Mentele

Editor's Note Say hello to Alex Mentele, who I invited to share some information about the BC Cancer Foundation's Underwear Affair 10K -- and some photos we recently shot together! Support Alex via his fundraising page. -Chris

It's estimated that nearly half of all new cancer cases in 2011 will be cancers 'below the belt;' colorectal, prostrate, ovarian, cervical and testicular cancer, among others, according the BC Cancer Foundation. These numbers are too great to ignore.

The work that the Underwear Affair is doing has inspired me. Over the course of the last decade, foundations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation have brought attention to breast cancer; a cancer which once was as ignored as these cancers are now, because of the social awkwardness associated with that part of the body. The success of events like 'The 3 Day' speak for themselves.

I've NEVER seen anything as creative as the Underwear Affair to bring attention to this cause, which is why I have been so enthusiastic and excited to be involved! It's my hope that the Underwear Affair will continue to 'bring awareness to down-there-ness,' and we can help increase prevention techniques that are used until we have the resources to eliminate these diseases.